Reenforcement for heat interchangers



Dec. 20, 1932. K. K. WRIGHT REENFORCEMENT FOR HEAT INTERCHANGERS 2 Sheets-Sheet I 1 Filed Dec. 50, 1930 Dec. 20,1932. I wmGHT 1,891,518

REENFORCEMENT FOR HEAT INTERCHANGERS Filed Dec. 50, 1930 '2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1 i7 E e a 7 W ir/7 25 A d i;

Patented Dec. 20, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE KIRK K. WRIGHT, OF KENMORE, NEWYORK, ASSIGNOR T RaG. WRIGHT & COMPANY, OF

1 BUFFALO, NEW YORK I nnnm'ononmnnrron HEAT INTERCHANGEBS Application filed December 30, 1930. Serial No. 505,570.

This invention relates to improvements in heat interchange apparatus, such for example as are employed in connection with the pasteurizing and coolingofliquids.

Heat interchange apparatus of this kind generally includes a vat arranged within a tank in such a manner thatfluid in the tank surrounds the greater portion of the vat so that a heat exchange takes place through the walls of the vat between the liquid in the vat and the liquid, steam or other fluid medium in the tank surrounding the vat. Since these vats are of considerable size, the vat will be subjected to severe outward pressure when filled with liquid, if thetank contains no.liq-' uid, the vat is subjected to severe inward pressures tending to distort the shape of the vat. Since the vats must be made of thin metal to facilitate heat interchange, the vats are readily damaged or deformed by the con ditions described, since it is not always possible to maintain anequal liquid level both in the vat and in the tank, which would equalize the inward and outward strains on the vat.

The objects of this invention are to provide vats of this kind with means for reenforcing the same to enable a relatively thinwalled vat to resist both inward and outward strains which may act thereon; also to provide a reenforcement for vats of this kind in which the vat is suspended at its upper end and which helps to support the vat in its suspended position; also to improve the reenforcement of vats of this kind in other re spects hereinafter specified.

In the accompanying drawings:

1 is aside elevation of a heat interchange apparatus having its outei wall of the tank removed to show the 'reenforcement of the vat:

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional elevation of the vat, on line 22, Fig. 1;

F 3 is a sectional elevation of the heat interchanger on line 38, Fig. 1, showing the end of the vat'in elevation;

' Fig. at is a' fragmentary sectional elevation of the vat on an enlarged scale, on line ls-4, Fig. 1; v I

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary section of a portion of the reenforcement of the vat on a *still larger scale "on line 55, Fig. l;

Figs. 6 and 7 are sectionalelevations thereof, on line 77, 5, Fig. 6 showing aconnection between two parts of the reenforcement beforeth'e connection is covered over with solder; I

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary. end view of a vat of slightly modified construction; Fig. 9 is a section on line 9'9, Fig. 8. The invention is shown as applied to a pasteurizer for heating and cooling milk, or other liquids, but it will be understood'that it is not intended to restrict this invention to p'asteuri-zers, since the same may be used in; connection with other heatexchan 'e apparatus. In the construction shown, 3 represents a vat, which is open at its upper end. The vat shown includes side walls, which have upright portion a and a curved bottom portion a. The vat also has the usual end walls 61?. B represents a removable cover for closingthe open upper end of the vat. The vat A may be constructed in any suitableor .desired manner, that shown being made of relatively thin sheet metal, so that heat can readily pass through the walls of the same. C,Fig. 1, represents thefusual drain pipe for withdrawing liquid from the pasteu-rizer vat, the discharge of liquid through the drain pipe being controlled by means of a suitable valve 0.

The tank in which the pasteurizer vat is arranged may be of any suitable or desired construction, that shown including side walls D and a bottom wall at which may be suitably connected, for example, by means of angle bars. The upper end of thetank includes a bar or plate E suitably secured to the upper ends of the side walls D of the tank, and which supports the vat A from the side walls of the tank. In the construction shown,

the metal of the side walls of the vat is formed to extend over an upwardly extending flange e of the bar or plate E to form a secure sup port for suspending the vat from the tank.

Except for the connection between the upper 7 end of the vat and the bar or plate E, the vat is spaced from thetank so that no other portlons of the vat contact with the tank, thus permitting the fluid in the tank to contact with all portions of the outer surface of the vat. If desired, the tank may be jacketed for heat insulation purposes, a second wall F being shown for this purpose in the construction illustrated. The space between the tank wall D and the jacket wall F may be filled with suitable insulating material, or if desired, the jacket wall F may be entirely omitted. If a heat insulating jacket is desired, a similar jacket may be arranged below the, bottom wall d of the tank, such jacket wall not being shown in the construction illustrated. I

With the structure thus far described, it will be evident that if the tank is filled with liquid while the vat A is empty, the liquid in the tank would exert an inward pressure against the walls of the vat, which would tend to distort these walls and bend'them inwardly, which in turn would buckle the bottom of the tank downwardly, so that the liquid would not be completely drained out of the vat through the discharge pipe- C, when it is desired to empty the tank- On the other hand, when the tank contains no liquid and the vat A is filled with liquid, the weight of the liquid would tend to distort the shape of the vat A, and thus also interfere with the proper functioning of the heat interchanger.

it is not desirable to make the walls of the vat of suflicient thickness to give these. walls the strength necessary to resist these strains, since this would retard the passage of heat through the walls.

In order to prevent distortion of the walls of the vat, I have provided a reenforcement for the vat which is so arranged as to interfere to the minimum extent with the interchange of heat between the fluids in the tank and in the vat, and in order to accomplish this purpose, the upper portions of the walls of the vat A are provided with one or more bars 12 extending lengthwise of the side walls of the vat. These walls preferably have webs or portions which may be secured to the outer faces of the side walls of the vat, and flanges or legs which extend outwardly from the side walls of the vat. For example, in the construction shown, the bars 12 are of channel shape, the flanges or legs of which extend out wardly from the vat. These channels may be Secured to the vat in any suitable manner,

pressures, but also act as heat radiating fins to provide a more extended metal .surface with which the fluid in the tank may contact, and which help to conduct heat to or from this fluid.

The bars 12, may, if desired, be made of fairly light materiahand are in turn reen forced by one or more upright rods 14 located intermediate of the ends of the vat and engaging the bars 12. The rods 14 may be connected with the bars 12 in any suitable or desired manner to prevent relative movement of the bars and rods. In the particular construction shown, the longitudinal bars 12 are provided with recesses in the outwardly extending flanges thereof into which the upright bars 14 extend. In order to prevent theserecesses from weakening the outwardly extending flanges of the bars 12, and also to prevent relative movement between the bars and the upright rods, the outer or open ends of the recesses in the bars are preferably bridged by some means connecting the portions of the bars at the opposite sides of the recesses and extending around the outer sides of the rods 14. In the particular construct on shown for this purpose, the bars 12 are provided at opposite sides of the recesses with holes 15 through which wire 16 maybe passed and stretched across the outer faces of the rods. The wire may then be covered with solder, as indicated at 17 to form a firm connection between the rods and the bars and to reenforce the recessed portions of the bars. Other means for reenforcing the recessed portions of the bars and for confining the rods in correct relation to the bars may be employed. 7

It is also desirable to secure the ends of the upright rods in fixed relation to the walls of the vat, so that the strength of the rods may be utilized to supplement the strength of the bars 12 for reenforcing the side walls of the tank. For this purpose, the upper end of each bar may be secured to a fixed part of the tank in which the vat is arranged. for example, the upper end of each rod may be threaded and engage in a correspondingly threaded hole in the bar or place E which is arranged at the upper end of the tank.

The lower ends of the rods 14 are preferably connected with the opposite ends of cross bars or members 20, which, in the construction shown, are curved to conform somewhat to the curvature of the bottom of the vat, and are provided at their opposite ends with horizontal projections 21, which are apertured to receive the lower ends of the rods 14. The lower ends of the rods may be secured to the cross members in any suitable manner, and in the construction shown, the lower ends are threaded and inserted through the apertures in the cross members, and a nut 22 serves to connect the lower ends of the rods with the cross bars and to support the cross bars from the rods. y

The cross bars may act as supports for the bottom a of the vat in any suitable manner. In the particular construction shown, a pair of longitudinal beams is provided, which extend lengthwise of the bottom of the vat, the beams in turn resting upon the cross bars 20. These beams or sills, in the construction shown, are of channel shaped cross section arranged with their flat faces bearing against the bottom wall of the vat, and with their flanges extending downwardly and resting against the cross members 20. By means of this arrangement, the nuts 22 may be taken up to the desired extent to place the necessary tension against the bottom wall of the vat. Consequently, the reenforcing structure is adjustable to compensate for any slight differences in the depths of different vats and can be tightened to place the desired tension against the bottom of the vat. The beams or sills 25 also act to a certain extent as radiating fins, and thus help rather'than hinder the exchange of heat between the fluids in the vat and tank.

The reenforcement also preferably includes one or more reenforcing bars arranged crosswise of the end walls a channel bars 27 being provided for this purpose in the construction illustrated. As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the side and end walls of thetank are joined at outwardly extending flanges 28 and the reenforcing bars 27 are arranged between these flanges and are soldered or welded to the end walls and flanges to form a secure joint. If desired, the vat may beformed, as shown in Figs. 8 and 9, in which the end walls 29 join the side Walls 30 in a flush or butt joint, the flanges 28 being omitted in this construction. When this type of corner construction is employed, the ends of the iongitudinal reenforcing bars 31 which correspond to the bars 12 shown in the other figures, may be interfitted at their ends with the reenforcing bars 32 of the end walls so that the flanges of these two bars may extend beyond the web portions thereof. When this construction is used, the ends of the legs or flanges of the bars 31 and 32 may be overlapped and have their overlapping portions secured together, for example, by means of spot welding illustrated at 33 in Fig. 9.

The construction described results in a reentorcement for tanks, whereby the vat is prevented either from buckling due to inwardly directed or outwardly directed pressure and the reenforcement is so constructed as to assist in'the exchange of heat between fluid in the vatand the tank, and formthe minimum resistance to the circulation of liquid in the tank. The longitudinally extending bars 12 and beams 25 extend lengthwise of the direction of flow of fluidin the tank, and therefore, ofl'er practically no increased resistance to such flow. The bars 14 and cross bars or members 20 which extend crosswise of the direction of flow ofl'er verylittle resistance to the flow of liquid in the tank and more than compensate for this slight resistance by the fact that they prevent Stratification of the fluid circulating in the tank. Since the entire reenforcing construction is suspended .fromthe upper tank wall or plate E, only at the ends of the rods 14:, there is practically no conduction of heat through the reenforcement to the outer tank'walls, and thus there is practically no loss of efliciency of the heat interchanger due to conduction of heat to the tank wall by the reentorcing structure.

By suspending both the vat and the reenforcement therefor from the upper portion of the heat interchanger, the expansion and contraction of the vat and reenforcement-due to changes in temperature will be substantially equal, so that the vat will be correctly and uniformly supported and reenforced under all conditions.

. I claim as my invention:

1. A vatfor a heat interchanger having a plurality of reenforcing bars secured to the sidesof-said'vat and having flanges extending outwardly from said sides and recesses in said flanges, rods extending transversely of said bars and into said recesses, means extending crosswise of the outer ends of said recesses for confining said bars in said recesses and preventing relative movement between said rods and said base, and means torholding the end portions of said bars against movement relatively to said vat.

:2. A vat for a heat 'inter'changer having a plurality of reenforcing bars secured to the sides of said vat and having flanges extending outwardly from said sides and recesses in said flanges, rods extending transversely of said bars and into said recesses, means extending crosswise of the outer ends. of said recesses for confining said bars in said recesses and preventing relative movement between said rods and said bars, means 'for securing the upper endsof said rods in fixed relation to said Vat, and cross members for reenforcing the bottom of said vat and secured to the lower end portions of said rods.

3. In a heat interchanger for transferring heat from one medium to another, including a tank for one mediumand a vat for the other medium, said vat being suspended from its upper portion and extending within the tank, a reenforcement for the walls .of'sai'd vat including a plurality of connected reenforcing members engaging the exterior surface of the vat, said reentorcement being suspended adjacent to the upper portion of the vat. l. In a heatexchanger, including a tank and a vat arranged therein and suspended from the upper portion of the tank, a reenforcement for the vat including a plurality of connected reenforci-ng members engaging the outer'surface of the vat and suspended from the upper portion of said tank.

5. In a heat exchanger, including a tank and a vat arranged therein and suspended from-the upper portion of the tank, a reenforcement for the vat including a plurality of reeni'orcing members engaging the outer tank.

6. A heat exchanger, including a tank and a vat'arranged therein and suspended from the upper portion of the tank, a reenforcement for the vat including a plurality of bars extending lengthwise of said vat, and a plurality of upright rods connected with said bars for supporting the same in operative relation to the outer surface of the vat, the upper ends of said rods being secured to the upper portion of the tank for suspending the reenforcing structure.

7 A heat exchanger, including a tank and a vat arranged therein and suspended from the upper portion of the tank, a reenforcement for the vat including a plurality of bars extending lengthwise of the sides of said vat, beams extending lengthwise of the bottom of said vat, and a. plurality of upright rods connected with said bars and said beams and having their upper ends secured to the upper portion of said tank for suspending said reenforcing structure from the upper portion of said tank. 7

8. A heat exchanger, including a tank and a vat arranged therein and suspended from the upper portion of the tank, a reenforcement for the vat including a plurality of bars extending lengthwise of the sides of said vat, beams extending lengthwise of the bottom of said vat, a plurality of upright rods secured to said bars and supported at their upper ends from said tank, and cross members secured to the lower ends of said rods and supporting said beams.

9. A reenforcement for a heat interchanger, including a tank and a vat arranged therein, said reenforcement including a plurality of bars engaging the sides of said vat, beams engaging the bottom of said vat, and a plurality of rods connected with said bars and said beams and secured to t e heat interchanger and arranged in the space between said vat and said tank, said bars and beams including portions extending outwardly from the walls of said vat for reenforcing said bars and beams and acting as radiating fins.

10. A reenforcement for aheat interchanger, including a tank and a vat arranged therein, said reenforcement including a plurality of bars engaging the sides of said vat, beams engaging the bottom of said vat and a plurality of rods secured to the heat inter changer and rigidly secured to said bars and having an adjustable connection with said beams for adjusting said beams in correct supporting relation to said vat.

11. A reenforcement for a heat interchanger, including a tank and a vat arranged therein, said reenforcement including a' plurality of bars engaging the sides of said vat, beams engaging the bottom ofsaid vat, a

plurality of rods rigidly secured to said heat interchanger and to said bars, and cross members by'which said beams are supported and which are supported on said rods.

12. A reenforcement for a heat interehanger, including a tank and a vat arranged therein, said reenforcement including a plurality of bars engaging the sides of said vat, beams engaging the bottom of said vat, a plurality of rods rigidly secured to said heat interchanger and to said bars, cross members extending crosswise of said vat below the bottom thereof and supporting said beams, and an adjustable connection between said cross members and said rods for adjusting said beams in correct supporting relation to said vat.

13. In a heat exchanger, including a tank and a vat arranged therein, a reenforcement for said vat including a plurality of reenforcing bars extending lengthwise in engagement with the sides of said vat and having flanges extending outwardly from said vat, rods extending crosswise of said bars and secured to said heat exchanger, said outwardly extending flanges having recesses into which said bars enter, and means for securing said rods to said bars in said recesses. r

1 1. In a heat exchanger, including a tank and a vat arranged therein, a reenforcement for said'vat including a plurality of reenforcing bars extending lengthwise in engagement with the sides of said vat and having flanges extending outwardly from said vat, rods extending crosswise of said bars and securedto said heat exchanger, saidoutwardly extending flanges having recesses into which said bars enter, and means secured to said 'bars and bridging said recesses for reenforcing the recessed portions of said bars and confining said rods in said recesses.

15. In a heat interchanger, including a tank and a vat suspended at its upper portion from the portion of the tank, a reeniorcement for the vat including a plurality of bars ex tending lengthwise in engagement with the outer faces of the side walls of the vat, beams engaging the bottom of the vat and extending lengthwise thereof, cross members by which said beams are supported and extending crosswise of said vat, rods rigidly secured at their upper ends to the upperportion ofsaid tank and rigidlv connected with said bars, and an adjustable connection between the lower endsof said rods and said cross members for adjustingsaid beams into correct reenforcing relation to he bottom of said vat.

KIRK K. WEIGHT. 

